Security Levels

Arctic Shield 2013
As the nation’s lead federal agency for ensuring maritime safety and
security in the Arctic, the Coast Guard will perform its statutory missions
to ensure the Arctic remains a safe, secure and environmentally protected
region. After
a successful
Arctic Shield 2012 operation on the North
Slope and Barrow, Arctic Shield 2013will focus on Western Alaska and the Bering
Strait, and will continue the three-pronged approach with outreach,
operations, and capability assessments.

Coast Guard personnel will also teach children about water safety and the
importance of life jackets, and will conduct vessel inspections and exams in
the Bering Strait region to reinforce the importance of good safety
practices.

Coast Guard C-130 Hercules airplanes will be strategically positioned near
Fairbanks and HH-60T Jayhawk helicopters will positioned on the Seward
Peninsula to conduct search and rescue, law enforcement and Arctic domain
awareness flights.

A
national security cutter will be deployed as a command and control platform
that will conduct various missions to include maritime domain awareness,
search and rescue, and law enforcement. The NSC is highly efficient, can be
underway for longer periods of time, and is uniquely equipped to respond to
threats and events in times of crisis.

A spill of national
significance seminar was completed June 18 in Anchorage and a mass
rescue workshop is planned to identify potential opportunities for
improvement in preparedness and response to a maritime emergency.

A forward operating location with search and rescue capability will be
established in Kotzebue at the Alaska National Guard Facility.